Iola Leroy grows up in comfort, educated in the North and unaware of her African ancestry, until her father dies and a treacherous relative has her declared property and sold. Through war, hospitals and hard won freedom, she chooses her people over the easy path of passing, and builds a life of purpose.
Published in 1892 by poet and activist Frances Harper, it was among the first novels published by an African American woman and a bestseller in its day. Its questions about identity and loyalty still land.
